When I launched my first website back in 1999 – blogs didn’t exist.
To get my site MarketingPrincples.com launched, I had to use ad agency designers who knew how to write code which in turn published my content on the nascent world wide web.
After my site launched, I realized I needed to make some content changes.
Because blogging platforms didn’t exist and I hadn’t bought the code they had used to develop my site, the designers initially charged me $100 for each change I wanted to make to my site.
Outrageous!
I quickly set out to find my own web developers who could build my own content management system.
While giving a presentation at a local university’s engineering college, some young guys came up and said they would be interested in working with me.
I agreed to give them a shot.
They built me a content management system in .ASP where I could upload and control my own content without any ongoing costs.
Off to the races I went.
Little did I know at that time nor did it occur to me that the idea of a back end content management system would be something other businesses would want.
Nor did I foresee that content management would ultimately become known in general as blogs and blogging.
If I had, I guess I would be on the other side of this post founding and running WordPress.com not my consulting practice.
Anyway in the early days of the internet, the content platform providers all suggested bloggers just sit down and blog every day for a year to generate their own unique set of pages and content.
Well – 10 years later I have done it.
I have blogged here every single day for the last 365 days over a period of exactly one year beginning on September 1, 2008.
I have learned a lot and will write more about what the experience has taught me – tomorrow.
Search Marketing Communications 
BusinessWeek Testing Google Voice Call Me Voice Comments
November 23, 2009Clicking through to a BusinessWeek article today, I noticed what I thought was an ad for Google Voice.
Call Me Google
After closer inspection, I realized BusinessWeek is testing a “voice comments” feature for their Byte of the Apple column.
When I first saw the ad, I had no idea what it offered. Even after several minutes of playing around with it and clicking on the learn more link did I realize the BusinessWeek page had refreshed with the following explanation page:
Understanding what the ad offered, I then gave it a try.
I entered my Google Voice telephone number in the fields provided and clicked Connect.
Connect Call
Within a second or two of clicking connect, I reached a voice mail box where I heard Arik Hesseldahl of BusinessWeek explain why they are testing the Google Voice product.
I was then urged to leave my comments about their Byte of the Apple column.
This is the first time I have noticed a website of any kind incorporate voice commenting into their user engagement mix.
Although I don’t have any comments about their Apple column per se, I do have one question about the Call Me Google Voice messaging product: When can I get a Call Me Google plugin for my WordPress blog?
Isn’t this type of audience interactivity something every publisher would want for their website?
Tags:Arik Hesseldahl, BusinessWeek, Byte of the Apple, Google Voice Call Me, User Engagement, Voice Commenting, Voice Comments, Wordpress Blogs
Posted in Arik Hesseldahl, Blog, BusinessWeek Blog, Byte of the Apple, Google Voice Call Me, User Engagement, Voice Commenting, Voice Comments, Wordpress | 1 Comment »